1. Technical Field
The present invention generally relates to geographic map processing and in particular to a system and method for associating digital raster maps with known geographic features. Still more particularly, the present invention relates to a system and method for associating specific points on digital raster maps with a geographic coordinate system.
2. Description of the Related Art
A digital raster map is a computerized map image that resembles a conventional paper map in that it presents an image of the mapped area, but has no additional underlying data associated with the features of the map. A raster map is typically created by scanning a conventional paper map, and is a grid-based map composed of pixels (or dots) of color or black & white. Each pixel in the grid has can be referenced by the pixel coordinates, and has only one value, which indicates the color of that pixel. Raster images are commonly referred to as “bit mapped.”
A vector map uses lines and polygons, rather than pixels, to describe an image. Unlike a raster map, in which the map image is simply stored as a grid of pixels, when a vector map is displayed, it is drawn from a set of underlying data. The vector map is created through the placements of nodes on a plane and connecting those nodes with lines. Vector lines can be attributed with tables of data such as elevations, values, names or other information relative to the line. Vector data can be displayed in three dimensions if the lines are attributed with z values, modified or changed relative to user need, or layered to allow for turning off and on the viewing of different information.
Because of their feature attribution properties, they are particularly useful for displaying geographic data. Vector maps are used to display boundaries or lines that denote the position and extent of features, such as county boundaries or lines denoting stream and river systems. It is also very easy to view or manipulate the data underlying a vector map, for example to view or change the elevation of a feature.
Also because vector maps are commonly drawn from a geographic data set describing the area shown, they are very easily, and generally inherently, georeferenced. Georeferencing is the process of relating source coordinates to referenced geographic coordinates, which are typically in standard latitude/longitude. An image or a vector file is georeferenced to be used within a mapping/geographic environment. In a vector map, the data from which the map is drawn will typically already include a geographic coordinate set.
Modem GIS systems normally make use of digital vector based map information. However, a vast legacy of paper-based map information exists. It is very expensive and time consuming to convert all of the information on these paper maps over to a digital vector format. In many cases the scope and expense of such conversions render them completely impractical. However, even when a complete conversion to digital vector-based format is not possible, it is still possible to obtain some of the benefits of computerized map systems, first by converting the paper maps to digital raster maps (by scanning them), and then by georeferencing the raster image. After georeferencing, there should be a clear relationship between the pixel coordinates in the raster map, and the geographic coordinates of the feature represented by that pixel. It would be desirable to provide a system and method for georeferencing a raster map by associating points on that map with corresponding points on a previously-georeferenced vector map, or with reference points designated in the raster map which have known latitude and longitude.